Petition o' the day, or how to miss the point by light years

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Remove Copyright from any technology that could aid green energy production after 10 years."

I think the petitioner means 'patent' rather than 'copyright', but never mind. Onwards:

"Copyright laws prevent companies producing energy saving products that could benefit the United Kingdom. I ask the government to change the law and allow the removal of copyright from any energy saving product or new technology that could be strongly shown to aid energy saving after ten years from the first day of the production of it's patent, therefore allowing faster development to take place in this sector".

Ri-ight. I suspect that the petitioner has not worked out that folk register patents as they do not work for some nebulous public good, but rather because they seek to have their efforts protected and, with any luck, rewarded. As such, the petitioner would see the exact reverse of what he seeks coming to pass, as all innovation in this area would come to a complete standstill.

Hey and indeed ho. I believe a certain Scottish economist noted "Every individual...generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention".

Sticking with matters of patents and intellectual property, a mate and fellow blogger who likes to keep his professional life private passed this one onto me:

"Thought you might be (vaguely) amused by a letter I had today from the Pyonyang Patent Agency. They had written to us unprompted to offer us help with a client's case (a trade mark rather than a patent, as it happens). I thought it surprisingly enterprising. The Cubans have never offered us such help..... The client makes coffee machines for motorway service stations, I can't imagine NK is one of their main markets!"

See, its not all rockets, nuclear weapons and printing the speeches of KJI that keep the helots of the DPRK busy.